Timing apparatus



Jig 4Z T. B. GIBBS E'I'AL TIMING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 2, 1942 Frag.

Dec. 4, 1945.

Patented Dec. 4, 1945 TMIN G APPARATUS Thomas' B. Gibbs and Morris E.Brown, Delavan, Wis., assignors, by mesne assignments, to George W. BorgCorporation, Chicago, Ill., a

corporation of Delaware ApplicationFebruary 2, 1942, Serial No. 429,191

14 Claims.

'I'he present invention relates in general to timing apparatus, and morein particular to apparatus for measuring short periods of elapsed time,The object of the invention is to produce a new and improved timingapparatus of this character.

A special object of the invention is a timing apparatus by means ofwhich a time interval can be measured with extreme accuracy, the resultin seconds being readable to at least three decimal places.

A further object of the invention is to produce a timing apparatus, ortime measuring apparatus, of the recording type in which extremelyaccurate records are made at the vbeginning and end of a time intervalto be measured. These records are in seconds and decimal fractions of asecond. By subtracting the iirst record from the last, the duration ofthe time interval is obtained.

The invention and various features thereof will be fully describedhereinaften, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-Fig. 1 is a. top orv plan View of a timing apparatus constructed inaccordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section taken on the line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a partial cross-section taken on the line 3 3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows a strip of record material on which records of thebeginning and end of a time interval have been made; and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of the control circuit.

Referring to the. drawings, it will be seen that Figs. 1, 2 and 3 aremore or less conventional as regards the showing of some of the parts,a1- though the working principles of the invention are fully showntherein. It may be remarked further that in order to simplify thedrawings as much as possible certain parts fully shown in one figure areomitted from another figure in which they might be expected to appear.For example, the ratchet mechanism shown in Fig. 3 has been omitted fromFig. 1.

The various parts of the timing apparatus are supported on a frame whichincludes the two side plates and of brass or other suitable material.These side plates are secured together in spaced relation -by threestraight cross members or bars I2, I3 and |4, Fig. l, and by two U-shaped members such as I5, Fig. 2. The frame parts may be securedtogether by means of machine screws as indicated in the drawing.

The reference character 2n indicates a rotatable shaft which hasbearings in the side plates l0 v scanning rib 22.

and Il of the frame. Mounted on the shaft 20 for rotation therewith is acylinder 2|, preferably of aluminum, which is provided with a spiralThis scanning rib may conveniently be made of a piece or' piano wirewhich is inserted in a groove cut in tile surface of tile cylinder andsecured by a swagnig operation. 'l'he depth oi the groove is less thantrie diameter of the wire so that the latter proJects above the surfaceof the cylinder. 'llie spiral rib 22 extends from end to end of tnecylinder and .nakes one complete tuin of 360 degrees.

'lhere are three additional shafts, indicated at 23, 26 and 29, whichare similar to shalt 2u and which are similarly provided with bearingsin side plates lu and Il. lne cylinders zo 2| and 30 are mounted onshafts z3, 26 and 28, respectively, and are provided with the spiralscanning ribs 25, 28 and 3|, respectively. The cylinder 2l and spiralscanning rib 28 are the saine as the cylinder 2| and spiral scanning rib22. The cylinders 24 and 30 and scanning ribs 25 and 3| are the samealso, except that the spirals extend around their respective cylindersin the reverse direction. y

The shaft 20 is coupled to the shaft 23 by means of a pinion 35 and gear36. Shaft 23 drives shaft 26 by means of a pinion 3l and gear 33, whileshaft 26 drives shaft 29 by means of pinion 39 and gear 40. 'l'he gearratio in each case is 1 to 10.

The four cylinders and their scanning ribs which have been describedform part of the recording mechanism, which includes also four printerbars 4|, 42, 43 and 44, which are associated with the four cylinders 2|,24, 2l and 30, respectively. The arrangement of these printer bars andthe means for actuating them will next be described.

The two printer bars 43 and 44 are made of stiff rod or wire, such aspiano wire, for example, and are rigidlyk supported on two squaremetallic Ibars 49 and 50 in any suitable4 manner. Holes may be drilledin bars 49 and 50, for example, in

above the two shafts 26 and 29, respectively, and

clear the spiral ribs on the associated cylinders 21 and 30 by about1/64 of an inch. Means for adjusting the printer bars relative to thecylinders spool, as shown.

necessary.

The arrangement for actuating the printer bars 43 and 44 includes theelectromagnet 55 and amature 54, Fig. 2. The electromagnet 55 issupported on the member I5 of the frame, which should be made ofnon-magnetic material such as brass, for example, to avoidshort-circuiting of the magnetic iield. The armature 54 is secured tothe under side of a stiff metal-strip 53, which is suspended from thebars 49 andl 58 by means of two adjustable pull rods 5| and 52.

It will be seenY that when the electromagnet 55,

is energized, the resulting attraction of armature 54 ris effective todepress the two printer bars 43 and 44 towardtheir respective cylinders21 and 30.

The arrangement for actuating the printer bars 4| and 42 is the same asthe above described arrangement for actuating printer bars 43 and 44,and includes an electromagnet 56 which is shown in the circuit drawing,Fig. 5.

The record material is a strip of paper tape 68, having lines extendingparallel to the edges and dividing the width of the tape into ten equalparts. The tape 60 is carried on a supply spool 62, along with asuperimposed strip of carbon paper 6I. The spool 62 is rotatable on theshaft 63 against the friction produced by spring 64, the ends of whichpress against the heads of the The shaft 63 is removable, whereby anexhausted spool of tape may readily be replaced by a fresh spool.

The tape-feeding mechanism includes the two cylinders or rollers 65 and66. The roller 66 is just beneath the roller 65 and is shown in dot tedlines in Fig. 3. The rollers are preferably made of rubber, or at leasthave surfaces made of rubber or other suitable friction material.

The roller 65 is mounted on the shaft 61, which is rotatably mounted ona frame comprising the side members 69 and 10 and the transverse member1I. The frame is pivoted on the cross rod 12. A spring 13 is arranged soas to press the roller 65 against the lower roller 66.

' The roller 66 is mounted on the shaft 68, which is rotatable inbearings in the side plates l0 and II. means of the knurled knob 16.

The shaft 68 may also be rotated bymeans of a ratchet mechanism whichincludes the electromagnet 11, the armature 8|, pawl 82, and ratchetwheel 15. The electromagnet 11 has a heel piece 18 and is supported onthe frame plate II by means of 'a bracket 19.A The armature 8| ispivoted on the heel piece 18 and carries an insulatedcontact spring 85which is normally held in engagement with an insulated fixed contact 84by means of the spring 86, which tends to rotate the armature on itspivot in a counterclockwise direction. The' pawl 82 is pivoted on theend of the armature 8| and is held against the ratchet wheel 15 by aspring 83. When the electromagnet 11 is energized, the armature 8| isattracted, breaking the contact at 8584 and causing the pawl 82 to moveintooperative relation with the next adjacent tooth on the ratchet wheel15. When the electromagnet 11 is deenergized, the armature 8| isretracted, con- The shaft 68 may be manually rotated by lmay beprovided, if desired, but is not strictly movement of these parts isprevented by a spring ,Slightly higher than the upper horizontal planedefined by the spiral scanning ribs on the cylinders, and function assupporting means for the record tape. The cross member l2 functions in asimilar manner and iny addition is arranged to provide lateral guidesfor the tape. At the ends` the cross member I2 is flush with the sideplates and II, butthere is a central portion 90, equal in length to thewidth of the tape, where the member I2 is cut away to a sufficient depthso that the elevation of the portion 90 is the same as that of the crossmembers I3 and I4.

The supply spool 62 is preferably mounted low enough in the frame sothat when the spool is full the record tape will be supplied from apoint which is on a level with or lower than. the upper edge of thecross member I4. On leaving the spoo'l 62, the record tape and theaccompanying strip of carbon paper 6I pass over the cross member I4 andbetween the cylinder 30 and the printer bar 44. From this point the tapeand carbon paper strip pass over the cylinders 21, 24 and 2|, andunderneath the printer bars 43, 42 and 4|, and then pass between thefeed rollers 65 and 66. The tape andv carbon paper strip are supportedby the cross members I4, I3 and 'tween the feed rollers and roller 66 isrotated by turning theknob 16thereby taking up the slack and leaving therecord tape and carbon 'paper strip stretched taut between' the feedrollers and the supply spool.

The cylinders such as 2| are driven at constant speed by a smallsynchronous motor which runs on alternating current of constantfrequency, the power being supplied from a standard frequency source inknown manner. The motor is not shown, but the motor shaft is partlyshown at 32. The motor shaft 32 is coupled to shaft 23 by means of thepinion 34 and gear 33.

In the embodiment of the invention described herein theicylinder 24rotates at a speed of exactly 10 R. P. S., or 600 R. P. M. In order toobtain this speed, a standard frequency source having an outputfrequency of 60 cycles per second mayconveniently be used, and thesynchronous motor may be a four-pole motor running at 180|) R. P. M. Thegear ratio between the motor shaft 32 and shaft 23 is 1 to 3.

As hereinbefore mentioned, the gear ratio between the cylinder shafts is1 to 10. Accordingly, cylinder 2| rotates at a speed of 100 R. P. S.,cylinder 24 at a speed of 10 R. P. S., as above stated, cylinder 21 at aspeed of 1 R. P. S., and cylinder 30 at a speed of .1 R. P. S.

Referring now to Fig. 5, the reference character 96 indicates a relaywhich is energized momentarilyat the beginning and at the end of a timeinterval which is to be measured. The circuit arrangementsfor operatingrelay will depend on thenature of the situation or apparatus with whichthe time interval is concerned, and as they form no part of the presentinvention they are not shown herein. The reference character 8|indicates a discharge device of the remain energized longer than thecharging time this purpose it may be assumed that the record tape 60 andcarbon paper strip 6I are extended through the apparatus in the mannerpreviously explained, and that the cylinders 2|, 24, etc. are rotatingat their respective speeds, as previously stated. The discharge device9| kis nonconductive, since the control grid has a negative bias due tothe connection to the negative pole of the current source through theresistor 92.

The condenser 94 is in charged condition, since it is connected betweenground and the positive terminal of the current source through theresistor 93.

Due to the rotation o-f the cylinders 2|, 24, etc., the spiral scanningribs such as 22, 25, etc. scan 4the record tape 60 along parallel lineswhich are perpendicular to the edges of the tape. These lines areimaginary lines located just beneath the printer bars and are indicatedin Fig. 4 by the dotted lines to |04, inclusive. The cylinders rotate inthe directions shown by the arrows, and the spiral scanning ribstraverse their respective cylinders in such directions that thedirection of scanning is from left to right in each case.

When the relay 90 is energized at the beginning of the time interval tobe measured, it closes a circuit at contact 95 for placing a positivepotential on the grid of the Thyratron tube 9|. The tube 9| accordinglybecomes conductive and a circuit is established over which the condenser94 is discharged in series with the electromagnets 55 and 56. Upon thedischarge of the condenser, which takes place in a very small fractionof a second, the voltage across the tube falls to such a low value that;the discharge can no longer be maintained and the circuit is opened; The

condenser 94 then charges up slowly in series.

with the high resistance 93.

By the discharge-of the condenser 94 as described in the foregoing, avery short but powerful current impulse is produced, which traverses thewindings of the electromagnets 55 and 56 in parallel. The electromagnetsare therefore energized momentarily and the printer bars 4| to 44,inclusive, are pulled sharply downward, whereby the carbon paper stripll I and the record tape 60 are pressed together and against thescanning ribs 22, 25, 28 and 3|, and four record marks such as i 2| to|24, inclusive, are made, on the record tape. These marks lie on thescanning lines |0| to |04, inclusive, and their transverse positionsalong the respective lines depends on the instant positions of thecylinders at the time the marks are made.

When relay 90 energizes, it also closes a circuit at Contact 96 for theelectromagnet 11. Upon energizing, the electromagnet 11 prepares theratchet and pawl mechanism for rotating the roller 66 and separates thecontact 85 from contact 84, thus removing the positive potentialfrom thegrid of the tube 9|. The object of the latter operation is to avoid anydanger of a second discharge of the tube 9| in case the relay 90 shouldof, the condenser 94. The design of the control circuits for relay 90 isthus made independent of any special consideration having to do with theproper functioning of the timing apparatus.

When relay 90 deenergizes, the contacts 95 and 96 are opened. Theopening of contact 96 breaks the circuit of the electromagnet 11, whichI deenergizes and releases the armature 8|. The retraction of thearmature by spring 80 advances the ratchet wheel 15 and roller 66 onestep by means of the pawl 82. Thus the record tape and carbon paperstrip are automatically advanced and the scanning operations now takeplace along the lines |05 to |08, inclusive, Fig. 4.

When the relay 90 is energized again at the end of the time interval,the same operations as' described in the foregoing are repeated. Sincethe operations are the same, it will not be necessary to go through theexplanation in detail, but it will sulce to say that a second timerecord is made on the record tape 60, comprising the marks |25 to |26,inclusive. The record is made by the momentary energization of theelectromagnets 55 and 56, which operate the printer bars as before.

Upon the deenergization of relay 90, the electromagnet 11 is deenergizedand the record tape is automatically advanced as Ipreviously described.

The time records having been made at the beginning and end of the timeinterval, the operator will now rotate the knob 16, Fig. 1, in theproper direction to feed the record tape and accompanying strip ofcarbon paper through the machine, the operation being continued untilall of the tape bearing the records has passed the member 14. The tapeand strip are now torn oir along the serrated edge of member 14; Inorder to conserve the material, the carbon paper strip is preferablymarked with a pencil along the printer bar 44 before starting to feedthe tape through the machine. The operator can watch the pencil mark andstop the feed as soon as the mark comes even with or slightly past theedge of member 14.

The carbon paper strip is now separated from the record tape, whichexposes the latter as shown in Fig. 4. In the drawing the record tape issomewhat shortened at the top, due to lack of space. All of the recordsare shown, however..

correspond to one second of time. The transverse location of mark |28indicates that seven whole sections had been scanned at the time themark was made and possibly also the eighth section, since the marktouches the dividing line` between the eighth and ninth sections.Whether the eighth section was completely scanned or not may bedetermined by inspection of the mark |21. This mark was made by theprinter bar 43 cooperating with the scanning rib 28 on cylinder 21. Thecylinder 21 has a speed which is ten times the speed of cylinder 30 andscans` Accordingly, the ten sections y, into which the scanning line |08is divided each written down beneath the the line |01 in one second, orwhile cylinder 30 is scanning only one section of line |08. The locationof mark |21 in the last section of scanning line |01 shows that thescanning of the eighth section of scanning line |08 -had not beencompleted at the time the record was made, and accordingly the mark |28must be interpreted as representing the digit 7. It will be understoodthat we are concerned with whole digits corresponding to completelyscanned sections, in interpreting each mark. The fraction, if any, istaken care of by the marks of lower order.

For convenience the record tape may have the digits to 9 printed thereonat frequent enough intervals so that at least one set of digits willappear with each pair of time records. It will be noted that, as shownin Fig. 4, the rst section is numbered 0, the second section I, thethird section 2, and so on. Each digit therefore refers to the number ofsections preceding the section in which it is found. This numbering isof considerable convenience in interpreting the records, but is notabsolutely essential, especially if the middle line on the record tapeis made heavy, as shown.

, Continuing with the explanation, it has been determined that the mark|28 corresponds to the digit 7, and this digit is accordingly writtendown as the iirst digit of the number represented by the record underconsideration. Since each sec#y tion on the scanning line |00corresponds tto one 12.456 is obtained; and subtracting from this numberthe number 8.234, the difference 4.222 is obtained, which is theduration of the time interval in seconds.

The apparatus shown herein is intended for use in measuring relativelyshort time intervals,

ten seconds or less in duration. However, it may be used also, tomeasure somewhat longer time intervals. To this end one of the teeth inthe gear wheel 40 may be marked in adistinctive manner and a referencemark 99 may be stamped in the edge of frame plate During the measurementof a time interval longer than ten seconds the operator observes themarked tooth and counts the number of times it passes the referencemark'on the frame. The number thus ascertained is diminished by `1 andmultiplied byl 10, and the product is added to the result obtained bycalculation of the time interval from second of scanning time, the firstdigit 7 repred sents that many seconds; that is, it is a whole number.The location of mark |21 identifies it as representing the digit 9,which is written as the second 'digit of the number. Since each sectionon the scanning line |01 is scanned in .l of a second, the second digit9 represents .9 seconds of scanning time and is written in the firstposition to the right of the decimal point. The marks |26 and |25obviously representdlgits 2 and 6, respectively, which are written inthe second and third places to the right of the decimal point, forreasons which will be clear from the foregoing explanation. The completenumber corresponding to this record is therefore the number '1.926.

The record made at the beginning of the time interval is converted intoa numerical expression in the same lmanner, and the number 3.541 isnumber derived from the record made at the end of the time interval. Thedigits represents by the marks |20, |23, |22 and |22 are obvious exceptin the case of mark |22, which is interpreted a representing the digit 4rather than the digi 3 because of the location of the mark |2|.

In order to obtain the length of the time interval, 4the number 3.541 isnow subtracted from the number '7.926 and the difference, equal to4.385, is the duration of the time interval in seconds'. It will beseen'that the result is accurate to three decimal places. It ispossible, in fact, to estimate the value of the digit in the fourthdecimal place, which in the case of the records shown is approximatelythe digit 1. f

In case the number which corresponds to the record made at the end ofthe time interval is smaller than the number which corresponds to therecord made at the beginning of the time interval, the former number 10before the length of the time interval is calculated. For example, thenumbers corresponding to the records may be 2.456 and 8.234. Increasingthe first v number by 10, the number ber.

must be increased by of record material at points on separate trans- Ythe two time records. If desired,A an ordinary type of resettablecounter may be coupled to the shaft 29 to count the number of rotationsof the shaft.

It will be understood also that the number of scanning cylinders may beincreased, if desired. For example, five cylinders may be employed in-'stead oi four, the additional'cylin'der being inserted ahead ofcylinder 30 and being driven at a speed of .01 R. P. S. With thismodification time intervals up to 1'00 seconds in duration can bemeasured and calculated from the records made on the machine.

The inventionl having been described, that which is believed to be newand for which the protection of Letters Patent is desired willgbepointed out in the appended claims.

We claim:

l. In combination, a strip of record material, lines extendinglengthwise of said strip and dividing the surface thereof into equalspaces corresponding to the ten digits, respectively, means including ascanning device for marking said strip at ^`a random point along animaginary transverse line, the scanning speed being such that the digitcorresponding to the space in which the mark is made represents a wholenumber of time units, and means including another scanning device formaking a sec'ond mark on said strip at a point on a secondtransverseline,

the scanning speed of said other device being such that the digit whichcorresponds to the space in which the other mark is made represents adecimal fraction. of one of said time units.

2. In combination, a strip of record material, lines extendinglengthwise of said strip and dividing the surface thereof into equalspaces corresponding to the ten digits, respectively, a plurality ofdevices for scanning said strip along separate transverse lines, markingdevices cooperating with said scanning devicespto mark said strip at aplurality of points, and means for driving said scanning devices atspeeds sch that the digit corresponding to thev space in which the firstmark is made is the iirst digit of a number constituting a time recordand the digits corresponding to the spaces in which the other marks aremade are the remaining digits of said num- 3. Ina device for making anumerical time record comprising a plurality of digits, means includingscanning devices for marking a strip verse lines, and means for drivingsaid devices at speeds so related that the marks correspond tothedifierent digits in said time record, the

transverse position of each mark being indicative of the value of thecorresponding digit.

4. Apparatus for measuring a time interval, comprising a plurality ofscanning devices for scanning a strip of record material, means fordriving said scanning devices at speeds which are related to each otheras consecutive orders of digits in the decimal system, marking devicescooperating with said scanning devices to mark said strip at points onseparate transverse lines, means for operating said marking devices atthe beginning and the end of a time interval to make two time records onsaid material, and means for automatically advancing said strip duringsaid time interval to space said records apart.

5. In a time measuring apparatus, a plurality of rotatable elements,means for rotating said elements at constant speeds which are related toeach other as consecutive orders of digits in the decimal system, andmeans responsive to the beginning of a time interval for making a recordof the instant position of said elements.

6. In a time measuring apparatus, a plurality of rotatable elementscorresponding, respectively, to a plurality of orders of digits, meansoperated at the beginning and end oi a time interval for making a recordof the instant position of said elements, and means operative throughoutsaid time interval for driving said elements at speeds proportionate tosaid orders of digits.

7. In a time measuring apparatus, a plurality of rotatable elementscorresponding, respectively, to a plurality of digit orders in thedecimal system, means operated at the beginning and end of a timeinterval for recording the instant position of said elements, means forascertaining the values of the digits in the several orders from thepositional records to derive numbers constituting time records, andmeans operative throughout said time interval for driving said elementsat speeds proportionate to said digit orders, whereby the differencebetween said numbers is a measure of said time interval.

8. In a time measuring apparatus, a vplurality of devices for scanning astrip of record material along transverse lines displaced from eachother longitudinally of the strip, and means cooperating with saidscanning devices to make a plurality of marks on said strip representingthe digits of a number, the order of the digit corresponding to eachmark being determined by Ithe longitudinal position of the mark and Ithevalue of the digit corresponding to each mark being determined by thetransverse position of the mark.

9. In combination, a plurality of devices for scanning a strip oi'record material on separate transverse lines. means for driving saidscanning devices at constant speeds such that the scanning speed of eachdevice except the iirst is ten times the scanning speed of the precedingdevice, marking devices cooperating with said scanning devices,respectively, to mark said strip, and means for simultaneously operatingsaid marking devices.

10. In combination, a plurality of cylinders arranged in a row withtheir axes parallel to each other, each cylinder having a spiralscanning rib, means for rotating one of said cylinders at constantpredetermined speed, gears connecting said cylinders, the gear ratiobetween adjacent cylinders being one to ten, whereby a strip of recordmaterial extending across all said cylinders is adapted to be scanned bythe ribs thereon along separate transverse linesand at different speeds,marking devices cooperating with said ribs, respectively, to mark saidstrip, and means for simultaneously actuating said marking devices.

11. In a time measuring machine, a frame, a plurality of rotatablescanning cylinders supported on said frame with their axes parallel toeach other, a spool containing astrip of record material supported atone end of said frame in ported side by side on said frame, a spoolcontaining a strip of record material supported at one end of said framein line with said cylinders, a pair of feed rolls at the opposite end ofsaid frame, said strip being extended past said cylinders and betweensaid feed rolls, means cooperating with said cylinders to mark saidstrip at a plurality of points, and means for automatically rotatingsaid `feed rolls after each operation of said marking means.

13. In a time measuring machine, a constant speed element for scanningla strip of record material along a transverse line, means cooperatingwith said scanning elementA to mark said strip at a point on said line,electromagnetic means for actuating said marking means, a circuit forsaid electromagnetic means including a space discharge device, meansnormally providing a negative bias on tive grid of said device, a relayfor placing a positive potential on the grid of said device, and asecond relay energized by said first relay for removing said positivepotential within a predetermined'time.

14. In a time measuring machine, a constant speed element for scanning astrip of record material along a transverse line1 means cooperating withsaid scanning element to mark said strip at a point on said line,electromagnetic means for actuating said marking means, a circuit forsaid electromagnetic means including a space discharge device and acondenser, a circuit 'for slowly charging said condenser, means fornormally maintaining a negative bias on the grid of said device. a relayfor placing a positive ptential on the grid of said device to dischargesaid condenser through said electromagnetic means, and means including asecond relay energized by said rst relay for removing said positivepotential before said condenser can recharge.

THOMAS B. GIBBS.

MORRIS E. BROWN.

